Railroad



STATES JOHN ELGAR, OF BROOKEVILLE, MARYLAND.

RAILROAD.

To @ZZ/whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ELGAR, civil engineer, of Brookeville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Maryland, have invented a new and Improved Manner of Constructing and Combining the Rails and Cross-Ties of Railway-Tracks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

The conditions required in the most perfect superstructure of a rail-way, are, iirst, the superstructure should beA composed of the least `destructible materials that may be had in suiiicient quantity; secondly, those materials should be so formed and combined as to produce a smooth and even line of track, of suiiicient and equal strength, in all its parts, so as to secure the line of track from derangement, and at the same time to possess a considerable degree of elasticity.

VTo fuhil these conditions as wellas I can, in the forming of my rail way tracks, I do not use either string-pieces or cross-ties of wood or stone, butI make them of iron. The lower portion of the string piece, which I will call the under rail, has a broad bearing upon the road bedyand I connect them j together, laterally and longitudinally, by

means of iron cross-ties and chairs, formed in one solid piece.`

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l shows a sectional area of two ofthe under and top-rails; anda side view of one of the cross-ties and `its chairs; Fig. 2, is a top view of the saine,and Fig. 3 represents the rails and cross-tie in perspective.

a a., a are the rails, which, as represented in the drawing, are of the kind called the bridge rail, but rails of some other form may be substituted, the nature of the ini` provenientnot being dependent on the particular form of the rail.

a', a', is the base of the under rail.

b, o, are brackets formed near the end of the rails to strengthen them by combining the base and stein more firmly together. The base of the under rails may be made ten or twelve inches wide and three-fourths of an inch thick. The stem, which rises from the middle of the base, may be seven inches high, and three-fourths of an inch in thickness. The top of the stem is enlarged when it is to receive and embrace the top-rail. Along this enlargement of the top of the stein, a groove, or channel isformed, which is to receive, first, a strip of hard wood,

kyanized, or other elastic substance, and

` upon this is placed the top rail; the strip of wood may be about an inch thick, and the channel should be about an inch and a half deep, so as to embrace the base of the upper rail to the depth of about half an inch. The

width of the channel should be about two feet is adopted, the top rail may be' twenty feet, if made of rolled iron; if it is cast iron, tive, or ten feet may be used; if fifteen feet is preferred, then the top rail should be rolled but fifteen feet, but if cast, should be seven feet and a half, so that in all cases, the joints, of the top, and under-rails, may be regularly broken with each other; this latter is a point of great importance.

I have spoken of the top rails being made, of either rolled, or cast iron; in either case they may be a simpleplate or bar, and fastened to the under rails by screw bolts passing through them, but I prefer the bridge i form as represented in the drawing, which has a dovetailed groove formed along it on the underside, which affords a convenient "mode of fastening the top rails down;

wedge-lieaded screw bolts being fitted to the groove, the stems of which pass down through the strip of wood, and through the bottoni of the channel, and being secured by screw nuts, there being openings `through the stem of the under-rails for that purpose;

in Fig. 4 I have shown a top-rail of the bridge form, marked, which may be made of either rolled or cast iron, and which einbraces the strip of wood 0, and the upper edge of the stem of the under-rail to which it is attached by screw bolts passing horizontally through them. These modes of connecting the top and under-rails, breaks the joints of both, as well vertically as laterally, and at the saine time makes the under-rail serve as a very long chair for the support of the oints of the upper rails, which greatly tends to preserve the stability, and evenness of the surface of the rail-way; and which, in connection with the continuous strip of wood, makes, in a good degree, an elastic continuous bearing, thereby diminishing jars and concussione, and tends materially to the preservation of the whole structure. These advantages constitute an important feature of my improvement.

The iron cross-tie is marked e, e, and j', f, and is, with the parts which constitute the chairs, formed in one solid piece. The part e, e, is a horizontal bar, three inches in width, more or less. The part f, f, which descends vertically from said bar, may be seven or eight inches wide at its middle, and three-fourths of an inch thick. The ends g, g, of the cross-tie constitute the chairs, to which the bases or" the under rails, near the ends, are bolted; this part is formed with ledges which embrace the edges of the base of the under-rails at their joinings. Where curvatures occur in the rail-way, the length of the rails must correspond with the variation inthe length of the two lines of track.

The great width of the base of the underrails is very advantageous in affording leverage to the chairs and fastenings to resist the tendency to lateral displacement of the railway; and the form and unyielding nature of the iron chairs and cross-ties, essentially combine with said leverage in giving stability to the joinings and this stiffness of the cross tie is essential in resisting the tendency of such high rails to spread at top. By this arrangement and combination of the respective parts, the several parts of each line of rails are secured against displacement in every direction, and the two lines forming the track, are etectually held in their proper position with respect to each other, for, although the structure may be depressed or otherwise moved in some degree, from want of firmness in the foundation the whole must, to a certain extent, yield together, each part being compelled to maintain its relative position. This is another principal feature of my improvement, giving to the structure a character of irmness and durability, not presented by any other combination for a like purpose.

Having thus fully described the nature of my improvement, and shown the manner of carrying the same into operation, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The use of the continuous strip of wood or other elastic substance, combined with the under rails, as described herein, and with the wrought or cast iron top rails, of the plate, or bridge, or any other form, substantially in the manner set forth.

2. l also claim the manner ot connecting and holding together, the upper and under rails of iron, as herein described; so as to make the under rail serve as a chair, throughout its whole length, to the top rail; the latter being embedded in a channel in the former; or, as in the other described plan, where the top rail is grooved on the under side, and rests on the under rail as a saddle; thereby giving strength and stability to the joints of both the upper and under rails.

3. I claim the use of cast iron top rails, when in connection with iron under rails.

JOHN ELGAR.

Witnesses:

CHS. M. KELLER, SILAS MERRICK. 

